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Prayer

What are the origins of the prayer for grace at meals?

Msgr. Charles Pope

June 5, 2023 7:00 am June 5, 2023

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There is no prayer for grace at meals that Catholics must precisely say. One is free to speak in other words of blessing and gratitude. However, there is a value…

There is no prayer for grace at meals that Catholics must precisely say. One is free to speak in other words of blessing and gratitude. However, there is a value in using memorized and widely known prayers so that others can join in the recitation. For this reason, Catholic rituals often set forth forms of prayers to facilitate communal prayer and to serve as models. Interestingly, what most Catholics call “saying grace” is actually a prayer of blessing: “Bless us or Lord and these, thy gifts…” But the word “grace” comes from the Latin gratia, meaning thanks or gratitude for a grace received. Thus “saying grace” more properly refers to the prayer at the end of the meal which usually begins, “We give you thanks almighty God for these and all your benefits, who live and reign…” The tradition of saying a true “grace” at the end of the meal is less common among Catholics today. The expression “say grace” refers generally to any prayer said before a meal. As for the origin of the prayer, it is not clear. It is listed in the Roman Ritual but without attribution. In the Roman Ritual, the familiar portion, “Bless us O Lord…” is part of a longer rite that most surely emerged in a monastic setting.

Msgr. Charles E. Pope is a pastor in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

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Sacraments

Choosing A Confirmation Name

Msgr. Charles Pope

May 22, 2023 10:19 pm May 22, 2023

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Choosing a saint’s name is a matter of custom and is not, therefore, regulated strictly by Church law. Candidates for confirmation may choose a name of a Christian saint by…

Choosing a saint’s name is a matter of custom and is not, therefore, regulated strictly by Church law. Candidates for confirmation may choose a name of a Christian saint by which to be called, but they are not required to do so. They may also choose to be confirmed using their baptismal name.

If a confirmation name is to be picked from among the saints, the surest answer is to pick from among those who are fully canonized. If one is to use the name of an individual not yet fully canonized it would seem that their status should be announced.

In general, candidates for confirmation who choose a special name should pick a saint or blessed who provides a role model for living the Christian life. They should also consider that choosing such a name will place them under the patronage of the saint. Thus in determining a certain saint they may wish to consider a saint who gives them special inspiration or a saint who can intercede for them in a special matter based on their own needs.

Rev. Msgr. Charles E. Pope is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

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Angels

Nine Choirs of Angels?

Msgr. Charles Pope

April 28, 2023 7:32 am April 28, 2023

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St. Thomas states this himself in his Summa Theologiae: “The authority of Holy Scripture wherein they are so named. For the name ‘Seraphim’ is found in Isaiah 6:2; the name ‘Cherubim’…

St. Thomas states this himself in his Summa Theologiae: “The authority of Holy Scripture wherein they are so named. For the name ‘Seraphim’ is found in Isaiah 6:2; the name ‘Cherubim’ in Ezekiel 1 (cf. 10:15-20); ‘Thrones’ in Colossians 1:16; ‘Dominations,’ ‘Virtues,’ ‘Powers,’ and ‘Principalities’ are mentioned in Ephesians 1:21; the name ‘Archangels’ in the canonical epistle of St. Jude (9); and the name ‘Angels’ is found in many places of Scripture” (Summa Theologiae Prima Pars, Q 108, Art. 5).

Some, today, are critical of this citing from various unconnected Scriptures and wonder if the terms are not interchangeable.

But St. Thomas carefully sets forth the sensibility of the names of the nine choirs which speak to their property, eminence and participation in the divine economy. His reasoning is complex, but it has a depth that many of his merely dismissive critics lack.

In effect, St. Thomas argues as to the fittingness of the names of the ranks since they bespeak different levels and functions as well as properties. In this way, they are not simply different names used in different places of Scripture to designate the same reality.

There are real distinctions in the names of the ranks, which indicate nine divisions, or strata, if you will, which are also termed choirs, not in the sense of song, but in the sense of groups or a variety of levels of organization.

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Eternal Life

Getting to Heaven

Msgr. Charles Pope

April 4, 2023 5:00 am April 4, 2023

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A short biblical passage supplied by St. Peter in Acts helps us understand more about how to get to heaven. Having heard a sermon that he preached on Pentecost, many…

A short biblical passage supplied by St. Peter in Acts helps us understand more about how to get to heaven. Having heard a sermon that he preached on Pentecost, many were struck to the heart and asked what they should do. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

But this is not to be understood as a ritualistic observance we fulfill on one day, but is meant to usher in a whole renewal of the human person. And thus we should look at all three things that Peter indicates in some more detail.

The word translated as “repent” is metanoia, which means more than to clean up our act. It means to come to a whole new mind, rooted in what God teaches and reveals, with new priorities and the ability to make better decisions.

To be baptized is not only to be cleansed of our sins, but also to see our old self put to death and for Christ to come alive in us. Baptism ushers in the beginnings of a lifelong healing process that must continue by God’s grace. Baptism also points to all the sacraments of the Church. Having been brought to new life, we must also be fed by the Eucharist and by God’s word, we must see the wounds of sins healed in confession, we must be strengthened for a mission by confirmation. Baptism also makes us a member of the Body of Christ. And thus, we are called to walk with all the members of Christ’s body — the Church. St. Peter also speaks of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. And thus we are taught that our dignity is to be swept up into the life, love and wisdom of God. We are called to be sanctified by the Spirit, to see sins put to death and many virtues come alive.

As can be seen, there are many dimensions to the work of God in saving us. Thus, we are to walk in a loving covenant relationship with the Lord. We are to do this in fellowship with his Church, through the grace of the sacraments, obedience to the Word of God and prayer (see Acts 2:42).

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Blessings

What is The Apostolic Pardon?

Msgr. Charles Pope

January 18, 2023 7:47 pm January 18, 2023

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The Apostolic Pardon forgives temporal punishment due to sins (not the sins themselves). Presuming that we die in a state of grace, anything for which we have not done adequate…

The Apostolic Pardon forgives temporal punishment due to sins (not the sins themselves). Presuming that we die in a state of grace, anything for which we have not done adequate penance in this life (which is also called the “temporal punishment” due to those sins) can be forgiven us through the Apostolic Pardon. The Apostolic Pardon is often given when it is rather certain that the person is nearing death. It is given after the conferral of the Sacraments of Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and viaticum.

The current form of the blessing is: “Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come. May he open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting life.”

The Handbook of Indulgences states: “Priests who minister the sacraments to the Christian faithful who are in a life-and-death situation should not neglect to impart to them the apostolic blessing, with its attached indulgence. But if a priest cannot be present, holy mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis (‘at the approach of death’), provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence. In such a situation the three usual conditions required in order to gain a plenary indulgence are substituted for by the condition provided they regularly prayed in some way” (No. 28).

The granting of the apostolic blessing (or pardon) is not an automatic guarantee that no purgation is necessary. Surely, the blessing helps, but as the norm states above, the usual conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence apply: confession, Communion and (if possible for the dying) prayer for the intention of the pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent. If the latter disposition is in any way less than perfect, the indulgence will be partial only.

The last condition especially is difficult to attain to, though perhaps easier if death is near. Nevertheless, while we cannot know the state of anyone’s soul perfectly, even of those who would be later canonized as saints, neither can we simply presume they met the required conditions, one of which is difficult.

Msgr. Charles E. Pope is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

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Saints

St. Valentine and Romance

Msgr. Charles Pope

January 18, 2023 5:00 pm January 18, 2023

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There is no obvious connection about how a third-century cleric and martyr came to symbolize romantic love. There are actually two men from the early Church known as Valentine. The…

There is no obvious connection about how a third-century cleric and martyr came to symbolize romantic love. There are actually two men from the early Church known as Valentine. The first was a Roman priest. He was decapitated in A.D. 268 for the crime of trying to convert a member of Emperor Claudius the Goth’s household. He also was a renowned healer.

St. Valentine is pictured in a stained-glass window at the Basilica of St. Valentine in Terni, Italy. While some details of St. Valentine’s life are lost to history, the local diocese believes he was the martyred 3rd-century bishop of Terni. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The second Valentine was a bishop who was also a renowned healer and was turned over to authorities for converting people to Christianity. He was imprisoned and an attempt was made to force him to sacrifice to pagan gods. When he refused, an attempt was made to club him to death. When that failed, he was beheaded in A.D. 273.

One current and credible theory of the romantic connection to Valentine comes from the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote in a poem in 1375 that it was on Feb. 14 that birds sought out their mate: “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day, / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate” (from “Parlement of Foules”). And since no record exists of romantic celebrations on Valentine’s Day prior to this poem, it may be the source of the holiday we know today. Beginning in the 14th century, courtly love among the nobles and wealthy began to be celebrated on Feb. 14. The practice gradually spread.

Another largely discredited theory held that Valentine’s Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia that was celebrated near the ides of February in Rome.

So as best as we can conclude, St. Valentine’s feast day came to be associated with romantic love through Chaucer’s poem. It was really more the day of the feast (Feb.14) than St Valentine himself where the connection was made, since it was on that day that a popular notion held that birds mated up.

Rev. Msgr. Charles E. Pope is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

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